Get ready for Parks Alive!

Brisbane’s four premier parklands and gardens will come together this month, to celebrate Parks Alive, a free event for gardening enthusiasts, families and music lovers.

Following the success of Parks Alive last year, the event has now been extended over two weekends.

The City Botanic Gardens and Brisbane Botanic Mt Coot-tha will host their events on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August, while Roma Street Parkland will hold their program on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August and South Bank Parklands on Sunday 23 August.

This year, the City Botanic Gardens event will focus on new and upcoming Brisbane based bands, including The Golden Age of Ballooning and other Qube Effect prize winners, The Brains Trust and Eagle Junction.

There will also be activities for the whole family to enjoy, including Indigenous hip hop dance workshops, arts and craft activities and Eurythmy demonstrations (a popular form of exercise for ladies in the 1920s and 30s) by Vulcana Women’s Circus.

Meanwhile, Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha events, which will also be held on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 August, will hold a range of activities in the new ‘In the Kitchen’ garden, including cooking demonstrations using native plants, as well as a kids Bush Tucker Hunt.

Native Plants Queensland will also be holding their Spring plant sale and display over the weekend.

On the Sunday, the gardens will host the annual Japanese Cultural Day with calligraphy, tea making and Mochitsuki (rice cake making) demonstrations in the Japanese Garden.

There will also be an incredible live music program at The Bandstand including the popular Japanese drumming group Toko Ton.

Held on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August, the Roma Street Parkland weekend will host a variety of gardening demonstrations, talks and workshops by gardening personalities including; Jerry Coleby Williams sharing his knowledge on Eating your Volunteers, Claire Bickle talking about Bugs in your Life, Noel Burdette giving you the perfect recipe for compost and Linda Brennan sharing her tips on how to collect and propagate heritage plants and which flowers in the garden are great for eating.

There will also be a full program of music from young Brisbane Bands at The Amphitheatre including; the People’s Choice winners of the Qube Effect, The Golden Age of Ballooning, as well as jazz ensembles on Celebration Lawn, the precinct for food and family games.

This year’s event will see a number of gardening associations take part, including; the Bromeliad Society, Native Plants Queensland, Sub-Tropical Fruit Club Association and the Queensland Bush Food Association, along with City Smart and Council’s Waste Reduction team who will be demonstrating a DIY worm farm.

The kids will be happy too, as Roma Street Parkland celebrates the opening of the news Children’s Garden and playground. All about natural play, the garden enables children to explore nature, run through the bamboo, and learn how long it takes to grow a pineapple!

Roma Street Parkland will also be screening a free family friendly outdoor movie screening at The Amphitheatre on Saturday 22 at 6pm.

And finally, South Bank Parklands Epicurious Garden will be hosting gardening demonstrations featuring Phil Dudman who will share with visitors how to start a veggies patch, as well as children’s workshops and live entertainment on Sunday 23 August.